


An Observation Journal on Squall Leonhart

by DragonSilk



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Diary/Journal, F/M, Fantasy, Prequel, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6271054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Squall Leonhart was an enigma, and you were going to study him.<br/>At least you finally had a use for that journal that your friend gave you.</p><p>Squall Leonhart/Reader</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of a fic exchange on another website. It's completed but does need some editing.
> 
> Anyway, so a few notes. This is pregame but it might bleed into the game a little. Obviously at that point there won't be any game retelling (because I don't do that) so it'll become a little AUish.  
> Artistic license, I decided that Guardian Forces reside in little stone idols. (Hence having to summon them to bring them forth.) The magic that you draw from enemies is also stored there. Mostly this was my way of converting battle mechanics into 'reality'.  
> This is a framed narrative. Meaning each chapter will start and end with part of an entry from the reader's "observation journal" but the middle bit will be the actual event.

  
_Day 1 of Squall Leonhart Observation  
_

_Well, this isn't really going to be the first day I've spent observing him, but it is the first formal day. That counts right?_  


\-----

You'd first started observing your fellow classmate when you noticed that he spent all his time in the training area. Whenever you went there to train with your friends or to sneak into the 'secret area', you'd see him fighting something. He was always alone, but he never seemed to have any problem handling the monsters. 

At first, you actually had no idea who he was, but you wanted to find out. You wanted to walk up to him and start a conversation. You'd been trying to gather the guts to approach him, when one of your friends noticed that you were staring at something. 

“Oooooh! Does someone have a crush?” She followed your gaze to figure out who you were staring at. 

“No!” You playfully hit her. “I just wanted to know why that guy is always fighting alone.” 

“Squall?” 

You were confused. That sounded more like the sort of noise that a bird would make. “Is that his name?” 

“Yep. Squall Leonhart. I wouldn't go talk to him though. He's kind of a jerk, and he's always fighting with Seifer.” She looked around before whispering, “You don't want to get on Seifer's bad side do you?” 

You rolled your eyes and went back to watching as Squall battled against a Grat. “I'm not scared of Seifer. He's failed the SeeD test three times already so I bet he's not even a very good fighter.” Then a bang got your attention, and you realized that the sword that Squall was using was a gunblade! Well, you couldn't be sure, you'd never actually seen one up close, but you thought that he'd just pulled the trigger as he sliced into the Grat. 

You stood up eagerly, ignoring your friends as you made your way closer to the battle. You could tell from the way the Grat was barely moving that the battle was almost over, but you still kept your distance even as you tried to get a good look at his weapon. 

One more powerful stroke, and the Grat was defeated. You fought the urge to clap as you made your way over toward him. The battle was over so you could finally approach him. 

Rather than looking for any useful items, he knelt on the ground, coughing. Your hesitance was forgotten as you recognized the symptoms and rushed forward. You unclipped an Antidote from your belt and held it out to him, but he only shoved your arm away. 

“Hey, you're poisoned. You need to take this.” You tried to offer it to him once more, but he pushed your hand away yet again. 

He reached a hand into his pocket and swiftly pulled out an antidote of his own. You put yours away as he drank his. You stood by awkwardly. Now that his poisoning was cured, he stood swiftly and continued walking deeper into the training facility. He didn't even spare a glance at you. 

Indignant, you chased after him. “Hey!” You grabbed his arm. “You could've just used my antidote. It would've saved some time, and I've got plenty.” It was true. You were the de facto 'healer' in your group. Mostly because you were the only one responsible enough to be prepared for anything. 

He simply stared at you. “Have we met?” 

“Oh, um, no.” You'd completely forgotten to introduce yourself. You did so now, giving him your full name. “I was watching you, because I'd never seen anyone use a gunblade before... That is a gunblade right?” 

“Yes.” 

There was a drawn out moment of silence as you waited for him to say more. Finally he pulled away from you and continued down the path. Well that was a bit rude. You followed behind him wondering what questions you could ask that would get him to actually have a conversation with you. 

You were still trailing behind him when two Bite Bugs flew out of the brush and straight into his path. Instantly Squall pulled out his gunblade and got ready to attack. You pulled out your Guardian Force from your bag and began casting one of the blizzards that you'd stored away. You knew that Bite Bugs were sensitive to the cold because you really hated them. Though who would like large flying mosquitoes anyway? 

So the moment you realized that Squall was attacking the bug on the left, you took out the one on the right with a well-placed Blizzard. The second that the battle ended Squall turned on you. 

“I don't need help.” 

Wide-eyed you backed away. “Sorry, battle instincts.” Well, there went your plan to ask him if he wanted to train together. 

Much to his annoyance, you continued to follow behind him as he made his way through the training center. You didn't participate in anymore of his fights. You did cast Cure on him after one of them, but you received a cold glare for that so you didn't do it again either. After that badly received Cure, you simply contented yourself with watching him battle from the sidelines. He only used his weapon and some items, clearly preferring to battle without magic, and you found that a little fascinating. He was easily one of the strongest people you'd ever met. 

You weren't sure if he was strong simply because he controlled a gunblade, or if he could control a gunblade because he was strong. Maybe the gunblade had nothing to do with it, and he'd become that strong through all his solo training sessions. 

You wondered if you'd be able to become stronger by training alone too. This train of thought started your habit of watching him as he trained. His fighting style was different from your own, but you still felt like you learned from watching him. When he wasn't in the training facilities, you'd battle on your own. 

You hoped that maybe you were getting a little stronger, but you still continued to observe him.  


\-----

_He doesn't say much, and his actions confuse me. So starting today, I'm going to record my observations and interactions with him. Maybe that'll make him easier to understand? At the very least, I finally have a use for this journal I got for my birthday._


	2. Day 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two~  
> If I could, I would totally embed doodles in the 'margins'. My four am notes for this part mostly consists of pictures. xD I think I'm way too excited about this.  
> I'll be skipping around time-wise. They'll all be in order though.

_Day 7 of ~~Squall Leonhart~~ Observation  
_

_Noticed that ~~Squall~~ , or should he be referred to as 'The Subject'? Just in case anyone ever finds this, it might be better to just use 'The Subject.' Will have to scribble out all instances of ~~'Squall'~~ later. _

_Noticed that Subject never arrives at the cafeteria early enough to get hot dogs. Didn't think Subject even ate because he always arrives so much later, usually after nearly everyone has left. Subject appears not to care about the hot dogs, though that's hard to believe.  
_

\-----

It was difficult to arrange, but you'd managed to bribe the cafeteria lady to save two hot dogs for you. She really liked Zell Dincht (you'd noticed how she slipped him an extra hot dog every day) so you'd offered to tutor him about the uses of GFs and magic for his SeeD written exam in exchange for a favor. He wasn't stupid, but he preferred to use his fists over anything else and didn't have the patience for magic or summoning. 

So you tutored him, and he asked the cafeteria lady to set aside two hot dogs for you today. Since it was her darling Zell asking for you, the cafeteria lady was happy to help out. 

Armed with two still warm hot dogs, you approached Squall's customary table. Even though he'd already ordered lunch, you figured he wasn't going to turn down the famous hot dogs. It felt like you'd finally found something that would help you get a conversation going with him. 

There was plenty of room at his table, the cafeteria was nearly empty but people tended to steer clear of him anyway, so you sat down right across from him. 

“Hey.” 

He didn't even glance up. His gaze remained firmly placed on his food as he mechanically ate. 

You opened the brown bag that you'd been carrying the hot dogs in. You would have liked to show him the hot dogs to see his reaction, but it didn't look like he was going to pay any attention to you. “I have an extra hot dog today. Want one?” You pulled them out and pushed one across the table toward him. 

“No.” 

“What? Everyone likes the hot dogs!” You didn't mean to vocalize your thoughts, and you certainly didn't mean to be that loud about it. Now you had the attention of everyone nearby. 

The ice that your companion was emanating was probably the only thing that was keeping them at bay. Normally you were sure that someone with a hot dog this late in the day would be mobbed. 

“I'm not going to eat it. I can't eat more than one. They're just too big.” You tried shoving it across the table toward him, but he simply stared at you. It was a little unnerving to have such a blank stare directed at you. It wasn't irritated, or angry, or curious. You couldn't read his thoughts at all. 

Then he stood, and you frantically grabbed his arm. “WAIT!” He couldn't leave. You'd get attacked! You lowered your voice knowing that people were probably eavesdropping. “Look, the moment you leave people are going to attack me for that extra hot dog. Take it please. Even if you just give it to a friend.” 

How had such a good plan turned into such a train wreck? 

Fortunately for you, he took the hot dog. He didn't say anything before leaving but he took it, and that was something at least.  


\-----

_He didn't say that he didn't like the hot dogs, but anyone else would have grabbed at the chance. Does the Subject like anything other than training? Depressing. Shall go train._

**Later!!!**

_Encountered subject training late at night. Subject was presumably taking a break from training and eating a snack. It was the hot dog!_

_Victory!_


	3. Day 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seifer's name is weird to me btw. I keep wanting to put the i before the e. And I can just see Seifer cheating every time that Squall gets the upper hand in their 'training' battles and Squall knowing he's going to cheat but wanting to beat him fairly. Poor Squall.  
> Right, so there's action in this chapter. I hope I didn't fail at writing it.

_Day 8 of Squall Leonhart Observation  
_

_Discovered Squall leaving the grounds with Seifer while ~~stalking~~ discretely following him._  


\-----

When you saw Squall and Seifer walking out the front gates, you wanted to know where they were going. 

You knew that Cadets could, in theory, leave the Garden at any time (except after curfew). Especially since some of them actually lived in the nearby town of Balamb. Except both Squall and Seifer lived in the dorms. You knew Squall did because he trained after curfew and students who lived off campus had to be gone after curfew. Seifer was part of the Disciplinary Committee, actually he was the leader, and they all were required to live in the dorms. 

Actually, you weren't even sure why Seifer was leader of the Disciplinary Committee when his attitude was supposedly what kept him from passing the SeeD test. A bad attitude didn't seem like a good trait for a leader, but that was beside the point. 

You'd never seen the two of them together before this. Perhaps they were friends, and they were going to Balamb to shop together or something? 

They walked away from the path to Balamb and into the forest. At that point, you weren't sure if you should follow them. Off the path, it would be easier for them to realize that you were following them and difficult for you to make up an excuse. 

Your ~~creepy desire to stalk~~ _curiosity_ got the best of you, and you trailed behind them. You kept your hand on your GF the entire time, ready to cast a Silence if anything attacked you. The spell wasn't intended for that sort of use, but you hoped that it would keep the monster quiet enough to remain unnoticed while you dealt with it. The monsters in the Training Center didn't really cast spells so you didn't have much experience with Silence... 

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. 

The two boys stopped in a small clearing. There was a small moment where they both stood still before Seifer was suddenly attacking Squall. You called out a warning, but your warning was drowned out by the sound of clashing steel. 

That was probably for the best, you didn't want to get discovered. You shuffled along the outskirts of the clearing, trying to look for a good place to watch without being spotted. Though Squall and Seifer were so absorbed in their battle that they probably wouldn't notice you even if you took off all your clothes and ran naked through the clearing. 

You wondered why the two of them were fighting. From the way that they seemed to know the other's fighting style, you assumed that they did this pretty often. There was a rule against fighting at Garden but they weren't technically on the Garden grounds at the moment. 

This was just another reason why Seifer was a poor leader of the Disciplinary Committee. 

If this was a normal occurrence, you wondered if maybe this was the reason why Squall was always training. It wouldn't be good for a gunblade wielder to just lose to someone like Seifer. 

Then again, Seifer's weapon looked suspiciously similar to Squall's, and their battle styles were similar, but that could just be because Seifer fought with a plain blade. There was no way Seifer could ever be worthy of using a gunblade. 

Squall was gaining the upperhand when Seifer pulled the trigger on his gunblade. Squall staggered backward, shifting his weapon from both hands to only one as the other arm bled, and that moment was the only opening Seifer needed. Squall was disarmed and you were ready to boo. 

“You really should stop playing by the rules.” Seifer's mocking voice was so loud that you could hear it clearly. As Seifer left the clearing, you had to stop yourself from throwing a Blizzard at him. Smug jerk. 

Squall stood, clearly a little injured and sore, and retrieved his gunblade. He tried swinging it a few times, but his right arm seemed to be too wounded to use it properly. 

You judged the distance and decided that you could probably cast a Cure on him from here and then run before he saw you. You were halfway through the casting process when Squall spun around to face you with his blade extended. You cursed as he braced for an impact. He must have sensed something. Oh well, too late now. You finished the spell and barely had time to see surprise cross his face as he was engulfed in blue light. Before the blue even faded from his body, you'd turned and started running back to Garden. 

Luck wasn't on your side. The entire way back, you could hear him running after you. Eventually, you decided to jump on a low hanging branch. You scaled the tree and hoped that he wouldn't think to look up. 

After a pause, he passed beneath your tree. He was slowly walking, and it looked like he was listening for any noises. You held your breath until he was no longer below you. 

Upon exhaling in relief, you realized that you weren't alone in your tree. There was a Caterchipillar just above you, and it was climbing down toward you. You screamed, lost your balance, and fell out of the tree. 

You spent a moment stunned on the ground before you found yourself with a blade at your throat. 

“How much did you see?” Squall demanded. 

“CATERCHIPILLAR!” you cried at him. You were not at all concerned about his anger at this point. 

He glanced around, and the moment he spotted the Caterchipillar crawling down the tree he positioned himself in a fighting stance. Even in your frantic state, you were still able to admire how quickly he got ready for battle. 

Not wanting to be the damsel-in-distress, despite already having the black mark of falling out of a tree, you jumped up and got ready to cast. 

“Don't get in my way.” 

So he thought you were useless? Well you'd show him. “As long as you don't get in mine.” Before the Caterchipillar even hit the ground, you were able to hit it with a Blizzard. The sudden shock of the cold, or perhaps the impact of the hit, caused it to lose its grip on the tree, and it plummeted down to the ground much like you had. 

You'd hoped to impress Squall, but he ended up impressing you by attacking the Caterchipillar the moment it touched the ground and finishing it off. His reflexes were even better than you thought. You didn't even have time to recover from your surprise before he was facing you yet again. 

“How much did you see?” 

Huh. Maybe he was worried you were going to snitch on him for fighting with a classmate. “I didn't see anything.” You especially didn't see Seifer being a cheater who couldn't stand the possibility of losing, but you knew that you shouldn't actually say that. 

Squall seemed to be pacified with your answer. He turned and took off toward the school. You walked after him. 

“You know, I think we make a good team. Wanna train together while we're here?” 

“No.” 

So you hadn't managed to impress him. He was a tough nut to crack.  


\-----

_Squall and Seifer really don't get along. But Seifer is supposed to stop students from doing stuff like fighting. Odd that he'd be fighting with a student. Maybe Seifer and Squall actually have a competitive friendship? Possible. Though did not seem to be the case._


	4. Day 10 + Day 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep wanting to write Squall's dialogue as "..." because he does that so often in the game. xD  
> Also, I totally wanted to have like a little crack scene where the reader walks up to him and holds out a piece of paper with a square written on it and then explains to Squall that showing someone a square is the subtle way of asking if they play Triple Triad... but I couldn't find a way to write that without it sounding completely ridiculous.  
> But it was there, in my mind~  
> Enjoy~!

_Day 10 of Squall Leonheart Observation_

_Noticed a student giving him cards for Triple Triad today. Borrowed a friend's deck._  


\-----

Of course after you'd borrowed your friend's deck ~~completely without her knowledge~~ , you had to run around looking for Squall. You ended up running into him as he was leaving the cafeteria. 

“Hey!” You weren't sure if he recognized your face or not yet. Sure you'd been kind of following him around like a lost puppy, but he'd either been ignoring you, or he didn't actually notice. “I heard someone gave you some Triple Triad cards today! Let's play a game!” 

“Who **are** you?” 

And he still didn't know who you were. You introduced yourself again. “You know how to play Triple Triad right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well c'mon! Let's play!” You dragged him over to a table and set out the three by three map. “We'll play an open game and flip for first. Heads or tails?” 

“...Whatever.” 

“Okay, well I'll pick heads then.” You hoped he wouldn't be so difficult for the entire game. You flipped the coin, and it turned out to be a head. You went first. 

He set down a card and captured your own card. He'd just gotten the cards, and you didn't think he'd actually played a game yet so you were surprised that he'd caught onto the rules so quickly. You quickly set down another card to recapture your own. 

The first game resulted in a draw, and you found yourself surprised that he already picked up the rules of the game. Then he actually won the second game. 

You'd known that he wasn't social, but that was actually all you knew about him before this point. Sure you knew other tidbits, like the fact that he sometimes trained with Seifer and he was a powerful fighter, but the only thing you knew about his personality before now was that he preferred being alone. 

You broke out the better cards for the second match and just barely won. He was a master strategist. Triple Triad was a fairly straightforward game, capture as many cards as you could with more powerful cards, but he was completely brilliant at it all the same. 

“You know... with better cards I think that you'd be the best player in the Garden,” you commented as the third match ended. “I know some other players. I think you're ready to challenge them to start adding more cards to your deck.” You also didn't want him to gain any of your friend's cards. She might notice, and you doubted that she'd be happy about it. 

You took a walk with him around Garden, and you pointed out various people for him to challenge. As he played against them you silently watched and congratulated him each time he won, and despite starting out with such a basic deck he won more often than he lost. 

He didn't talk much, and when it was just the two of you you'd nervously chatter, but you thought he was probably having fun. He wouldn't be playing the game if he weren't enjoying it and you liked seeing some of the tricks he came up with. 

When you watched him fight, you often learned a lot. It was the same for watching him play Triple Triad. You found yourself learning new strategies. 

Squall Leonheart might be a quiet and reserved man, but you felt like there was a lot that could be learned from him. You wanted to understand him more and more with every day.  


\-----

__

_Triple Triad. Who knew he'd be so good at and so willing to play a game like that._

  
_Day 11 of Squall Leonheart Observation_

_Joined Squall for lunch today. He broke out his deck, and we ended up playing Triple Triad again while we ate. He didn't talk much but will assume he enjoys it. Who knew that he'd enjoy a card game so much? Must get own set of cards or arrange to permanently keep these._

_He really is brilliant at strategy. He'd make a good commander._


	5. Day 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more updates and then we'll be done with this mini-fic.  
> I'm happy to see other Squall fans out there ! :) I hope I'm doing him justice.

_Day 15 of SLO_

_SeeD written exams coming up. Assume Squall is also studying but he's in a different class so don't actually know. Discovered a few days ago that Squall is part of the Sabers. Makes sense since all he ever does when fighting is attack with his gunblade._  


\-----

You were spending the first half of your day studying with your friends. Even though you had spent far too much time following Squall around lately, there was nothing like upcoming exams to get your mind focused. You wouldn't be surprised if Squall became a SeeD this time around, and you didn't want to be stuck as a Cadet while he was a SeeD. 

This was going to be your second year taking the written exam. You'd failed it the first year, like most people did, but this year you knew what sort of material you needed to study. 

At the moment, you were reading through one of the journals on magic and magical items in the library. It wasn't required reading, but you'd learned last year that having extra knowledge was useful for the 'Write a Battle Strategy' section of the exam. Most people failed their first year because they simply couldn't plan enough diverse strategies to get the needed amount of points. 

You turned the page and found an article on the difference between casting Cure and drinking a Potion. 

“Hey listen to this!” You made sure your friends were listening to you before you continued. “You guys know how a Cure actually knits together your wounds while a Potion just gives you a boost of energy right? Well apparently Potions, if used too often over time, can become addictive.” 

“How do you have TIME for that? I'm still memorizing monster weaknesses.” 

“Oh just remember to cast Cure instead of using a Potion and cite this journal on your test,” you muttered as they went back to work. They'd probably use Cures anyway. The only person you knew who really relied more on Potions was Squall... who used a bunch of Potions every single day... 

You stood up, shoving all your stuff into your bag and grabbing the journal. “I gotta go,” you shouted back to your friends as you nearly ran to the check out counter. You dropped the journal on the counter. “I'd like to check this out.” 

You checked out the journal and ran off to find Squall. He wasn't in the training facilities. He wasn't in the cafeteria. You'd just come from the library, and you couldn't think of anywhere else he could be. Well, actually he could be in his room, but you weren't sure where that was. 

It was worth looking at the student directory to figure it out. You found his room number and took off for it hoping that he'd be there. 

You were disappointed when Squall wasn't the one who answered the door. “Um, is Squall here?” 

“Dunno.” The guy opened the door wider. “His door's closed. You can go check his room if you want.” 

“Okay.” You stepped inside and walked over to the only closed door. You knocked once, wondering how many people had ever visited him before. When Squall didn't answer, you turned to his roommate. “Would you mind if I left a note for him?” 

Then Squall's door opened, and you found yourself looking at a very tired Squall. “Did I wake you?” 

“Yes.” 

“Oh sorry! But I found this article I thought you might be interested in.” 

Squall stepped aside and opened the door wider. You took that as an invite to come into his room and walked in. You took the chair at his desk and showed him the article. “Look, this article is about the addictive nature of potions. I'd noticed that you use a lot of Potions while training, and I wondered if you might want to start casting Cure instead.” 

He took the article and looked at it without a word. After reading it he gave it back to you. 

It suddenly occurred to you that you'd never seen him summon a GF or cast a spell. “You do have a Guardian Force right?” 

“Yes... but I don't stock magic.” 

“Hand it over.” 

He did so reluctantly, and you realized that he used Quetzalcoatl. "If you haven't done the trial at the Fire Cavern yet, you can borrow my Shiva when you go,” you told him as you transferred half of your stocked Cures over to his Quetzalcotl. 

You gave his GF back to him. “You've got about twenty-five Cures now. After exams we'll have to go out and draw some Cures from monsters for you.” You got up and walked over to the door. “I'd better get back to studying.” 

You fled before he could say anything. You hoped that your crush on him wasn't becoming too apparent. What had you been thinking when you'd offered to let him borrow Shiva? Surely he had to know something was up.  


\-----

_He uses a thunder based GF. Wonder why he never summons it. That probably means that it's not very fond of him. Need to get back to studying._


	6. Day 22

_Day 22 of Squall Observation_

_This morning they announced that the field exam would be held later today. Everyone who passed last week's written exam has the morning off._   


\-----

The moment your instructor announced that you had the morning off to prepare for the field exam, you dashed out of the room to go find Squall. He'd borrowed Shiva earlier in the morning in order to complete the Fire Cavern Trial, and you were going to need to get her back. 

You decided to check his class first. Instructor Trepe might still be telling them about the field exam. You looked into the classroom to find that most people had already left. Squall, fortunately, was talking to Instructor Trepe about something. His back was facing you, but you'd recognize his jacket anywhere. Especially since he was one of the few students who never wore their uniform. 

You moved out of the doorway so that you wouldn't be in anyone's way and waited for Squall to finish talking to his instructor. The conversation didn't last very long, and as Instructor Trepe was leaving, Squall turned and you caught sight of his face. 

“Holy Bahamut!” you cried as you swiftly moved to stand in front of him. Gently you grabbed his face and pulled him a little closer so you could study the giant gash. “What happened?” He'd never been injured during training before, and you didn't think that anything at the Fire Cavern could have done this. 

“Seifer.” 

Well that made perfect sense. “Did he cheat again?” 

“He cast fire on me mid-attack.” 

“I don't see why you won't let me just zap him every time he cheats.” You ran a finger lightly across the gash, and you were pleased to note that he didn't wince. “You already got this looked at?” 

“Dr. Kadowaki said it'll scar.” 

“Seifer is such a bitch.” You released his face and smiled at him. “Well, it makes you look dashing.” 

He looked uncomfortable so you changed the subject. “What are you going to do before the field exam?” 

“Fire Cavern. Seifer distracted me.” 

“Ok, well make sure you get Shiva back to me before the exam.” 

He nodded.   


\-----

Right before the exam was supposed to begin, you were still waiting for Squall to give you your Guardian Force back. He came back into the entrance hall right before they started to announce the teams. 

He walked up and discretely handed you Shiva back. You reequipped it and hoped that you'd end up on the same team as him. Unfortunately it seemed that the teams were all based on your classes. You ended up in a team with fellow classmates while Squall ended up on a team with Seifer. 

Before you walked off to find your group, you tugged on his arm for attention. “Good luck. Don't kill each other.” 

He nodded, and you went to find your group. 

Your group ended up being assigned to some of the houses. It was a pretty straightforward job, and without anything better to do, you tried to see if you could spot the town center from one of the upper levels. Not much happened until you were sent the evacuation notice. 

As your team ran back to the beach, you wondered how long it would take Squall's team to retreat. You hoped that Seifer wasn't doing something stupid. The two of them really shouldn't have ended up on the same team. Your thoughts caused you to lag behind the rest of your team as you looked back to see if you could get a glimpse of Squall. 

By the time you reached the edge of the beach, you hadn't spotted him, and you were starting to be a little concerned. The town square wasn't that far from where your team had been stationed. He should be arriving on the beach by now. 

“Hey, come on!” your team leader shouted as he got on the boat. 

You slowly walked toward the boat. Trying to stall for time as you wondered what could be keeping Squall's team. 

“Get on the boat!” 

You finally had to listen to your team leader and get on the boat, but you ran straight for the top of the boat and tried to keep a lookout for Squall as the beach got farther and farther away. 

You ended up getting a lecture on not letting your thoughts distract you during a mission. 

Squall ended up passing, and your distraction caused you to end up failing. You'd pass next time. 

Not passing during this round meant that you weren't invited to the ball held in their honor tonight. So you volunteered to help out at the ball and to walk around offering people wine and appetizers. Not that you actually planned to do any of that. 

You did your job until you finally noticed Squall standing off to the side in a corner. He'd picked the wall farthest from everything. So you found a good spot to put down your tray before joining him. 

Some other girl got to him before you did. You hung back and watched as she literally dragged him onto the dance floor. He looked more surprised than anything, but he wasn't pulling away, which bothered you a little. 

They only danced for a single dance so you were able to keep your jealousy under control. It helped that Squall didn't seem to be very good at dancing. When the mysterious girl left at the end of the first dance, you approached Squall before anyone else could beat you to him. 

“I didn't know that you danced,” you casually said, trying not to let any of your jealousy show. 

“I don't.” 

“You just did,” you pointed out. 

“It was unintentional.” 

Well, it was now or never. “Would you dance with me?” 

“I'm not very good.” 

“I noticed.” You smiled. “I don't mind.” 

“...If you want.” 

He was still a little stiff, and he probably wasn't ever going to be a graceful dancer, but it was nice to be able to dance with him. You convinced him to tell you about what had happened during his field exam. 

Then someone yelled at you for not working and you had to run away.   


\-----

_I wish I passed my SeeD exam too but I'm sure I'll be able to do it next time. Squall passed even though Seifer was the leader of his group and made a lot of stupid decisions. I'm not surprised that Seifer never passes the field exam._


	7. Day 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun trip, but sadly I think this is the end. :( There might be an epilogue after this if I can make it work. (Basically it'll happen when Squall finally comes back to Garden for the first time.)  
> I'd like to do that, to kind of show how this little prequel affected the game.

_Day 23 of Squall Observation  
_

_I might have to put this journal aside for a while. Squall is leaving on a SeeD mission._  


\-----

You didn't have to hear from the rumor mill that Squall was getting assigned to his first mission right away. He actually came by and told you himself. You were torn between being sad that he was leaving on a mission and happy that he actually thought to let you know. 

“How long are you going to be gone?” You knew that some missions could take months and that others were only the matter of a week. 

“I don't know.” He shrugged. 

You frowned. "Are you going with a large group?"

“Only three SeeDs are being assigned.”

That meant that it was probably a low key mission. Those didn't usually take very long. 

You would still miss him. 

The two of you sat, side by side, in silence for a moment before he stood. “I should go.” 

“Wait.” You grabbed the front of his jacket, pausing for a second. Doubt took over for a moment, making you wonder if you should just throw caution to the wind? The answer was yes. He would be leaving, and you might not get another chance. You leaned up on your toes as you pressed your lips to Squall's. 

He was unresponsive, and you started to pull away, horribly embarrassed. Then his arm wrapped around your waist, and he bent his head slightly to reconnect your lips. 

It was a short, hesitant kiss, but as he pulled away, you felt your grin stretch from ear to ear. “I'll see you when you come back?” 

“Yes.” It was a single word, a simple response, but he said it without a pause. He might be going on a mission, but he'd be back. You let go of his jacket knowing that he needed to get going. 

“Maybe I'll even be a SeeD, too, by then.” 

He nodded. 

Then he had to leave for his mission, but you didn't mind too much. He'd be back. You had complete faith in his ability to get the mission done.  


\-----

_This might be the last entry even after he comes back. Don't really need to keep a journal about my boyfriend. Not that he's my boyfriend exactly, but it looks like it's going that direction!_


End file.
